Title: Repent and Turn (Acts 3:17-26)
Contents Repent and turn back (Acts 3:17-26) - Rev. Il-guk Eom
[Acts 3:17-26]
It is Jesus who lives and works today and gives us power, and it is Jesus who gives life to us who had no choice but to die. Only when we focus on Jesus Christ can we discover who we are. When we meet Jesus Christ personally, we are truly converted. Therefore, Jesus Christ is at the center of Peter's proclamation of the gospel. He wanted to show only Jesus Christ to those people who focused on him. He wanted to reveal Jesus Christ, which the ignorant people could not see. Rather, he is hoping to appear crucified before me and you today. As in verse 15, 'you have killed the Lord of life', he wanted to face that you were the one who killed the very same Jesus Christ.
Everyone! Who Killed Jesus Christ? Who Killed Jesus Grecido? Are you Pilate? Are you Roman soldiers? After risking his life and showing Jesus Christ, Peter says one more thing. 'You killed it. 'You have killed the Lord of life.' The gospel is perhaps the spark that arises in the face of this truth. Repentance is discovering one's dirty self in front of this unavoidable cross and completely turning around. And the gospel is the flooding of God's mercy, grace, and love. As verse 15 says, 'You have killed the Lord of life. But God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses of these things.' But it is important. We killed the Lord of life, but God raised him from the dead. This is an amazing thing God has done. This fact gives us life and gives us hope. Because everything we did was spiritually darkened and ignorant. We crucified Jesus Christ because of our spiritual blindness. When we go to the time of Jesus' crucifixion, we will realize that we are the Roman soldiers hammering.
But God foretold through the mouths of all the prophets that Christ would be put to death. This is God's will for the people, and it means God's love. 'He was pierced for our transgressions...The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of our whole group' (verses 5-6), Isaiah 53 says. It is already spoken through prophecies 300 years before Jesus came. Continuing on, Isaiah 55:1-11 has this to say: 'Come to the waters, you who thirst...' So verse 19 is written like this. 'Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. In this way, the days of joy will come from before the Lord.' It means that the perfect will of God will be accomplished when we receive it completely through faith. This gospel made Peter a servant of power. This gospel is working the same for us today. Where this gospel is preached, life blooms. A fountain of life will burst forth in every heart that holds this gospel, and God will bless and exalt him in every path through which this gospel is transmitted.
The event of Jesus Christ's death on the cross and resurrection is the completion of salvation. Now all that remains is to preach. In verse 17, we must go boldly today to the multitude of people who do not know and do not receive the joy. What is the purpose of our life? Our existence has changed since we believed in Jesus Christ. We are the letters of Christ. We ourselves are the gospel. When our faces are opened, the world will be in full bloom. If we receive power and pray in the Holy Spirit, preach the word, and pray, the world will be holy. The purpose of our existence here is to introduce Jesus Christ to those still unbelievers. If we neglect this, we are deprived of even what we have. We need to expose ourselves to the people around us as Christians. You have to do it quietly. And you must show an exemplary life. We must evangelize in a deep way.